Oct 14, 2009

Interesting Psak from Rav Elyashiv: Davening on behalf of a non-Jew

The Director of Lev Malka, Rav Aharon Aberman asked Rav Elyashiv a shailoh if he is allowed to daven on behalf of a non-Jew at the Kotel. A non-Jew, a Christian (religious presumably and based on the article I will assume Catholic) once donated to his organization for sick children with cancer, and he recently contacted them offering another donation. The condition he set was that they daven for him at the Kotel to succeed in his business.

Rav Aberman was uncomfortable with the condition and asked Rav Elyashiv if he is allowed to or not.

Rav Elyashiv answered that one is allowed to daven on behalf of a non-jew who believes in the God of the jews, and is not an idol-worshipper. One cannot daven on behalf of a non-jew who is an idol-worshiper. (source: TOG)

Personally I would not have thought of asking. I would have assumed that because of Darkei Shalom, if asked specifically, one is allowed to daven for a goy. Differentiating between an idol-worshiper and a non-idol worshiper is an interesting distinction, and makes me think that the goy in question was a Catholic, as we consider Catholics to be idol worshipers, while other Christians are not necessarily idol worshipers (for them to be Christians - for a Jew it would be).

what's the hava aminah? at minimum, for a goy who believes in monotheism, it's alloweed. v'ho rayeh - they are allowed to bring a shelamim and one can bring it on their behalf. and the cohen must have kavanah as for who the korban is for and what it is, etc. as well we pray for the world and the oomos haolam every day.

Why do you make a distinction between Catholics and other Christians? We hold like Tosafos that Christians are not ovdei avodah zarah and merely believe in shituf, which is assur for a Jew who's commanded in yichud Hashem but not for bnei Noach. This is how the Rema poskins in Shulchan Aruch – that we can do business with the non-Jews and don’t have to worry that they’ll make a shavuah to avodah zara. And Tosafos was certainly talking about Catholicism, because that’s all there was in their day and age.

I dont remember the details right now, but I do remember that when we learned hilchos avoda zara there was such a distinction. Maybe we misunderstood te differences between Catholics and other strains of Christianity, but I remember we did differentiate and called Catholicism Avoda Zara even for a goy, while other strains are only for a Jew.

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About Me

I am a regular Joe with a Yeshiva background. I learned in Telshe Yeshiva, Heichal HaTorah (R' Tzvi Kushelevsky), and a now defunct Halacha Kollel. I have semicha from R' Zalman Nechemia Goldberg and kaballa in Shechita from Dayan Schwartz of Kehillas HaYeraim (Chomas HaKashrus). I have a college degree in Finance from Touro College and am also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
My wife and I, with our 8 children, ben porat yosef (knayna hara), live in Eretz Yisrael.